Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island)
Grand Hotel | |
Location in Michigan | |
Location | 286 Grand Avenue, Mackinac Island, Michigan, US |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°51′4″N 84°37′33″W / 45.85111°N 84.62583°W |
Built | 1887 |
Architect | Mason & Rice[1] Alphonse Howe & Charles Caskey, builders assisted by John O. Plank[2][3] |
Architectural style | Queen Anne |
NRHP reference No. | 72000637 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 5, 1972[5] |
Designated NHL | June 29, 1989[6] |
Designated MSHS | July 12, 1957[4] |
The Grand Hotel is a historic
Grand Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[7]
History
In 1957, the Grand Hotel was designated a State Historic Building. In 1972, the hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places, and on June 29, 1989, the hotel was made a National Historic Landmark.[11]
In September 2019, Dan Musser III announced that his family, which owned the hotel "for nearly nine decades", was selling it to KSL Capital Partners.[12]
Facilities
Carleton Varney, a protégé of Dorothy Draper, decorated the Grand Hotel in late 19th-century decor, including Pelargonium geraniums. Varney purposely designed the hotel so that all the rooms are different from each other in at least one aspect. There are four types of rooms: Category I, Category II, Category III, and Named Rooms. There are six two-bedroom suites consisting of two bedrooms connected by a parlor, of which two, the Grand Suite and the Carleton Varney Suite, overlook the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinac. The presidential suite is located in the center of the hotel with a balcony over the porch. A detached structure added in early 2000 was named the Masco Cottage.[13]
Additionally, seven suites are named for and designed by seven former
Grand Hotel's front porch is the longest in the world at some 660 feet (200 m) in length, overlooking a vast Tea Garden and the resort-scale Esther Williams swimming pool.[15] These areas are often used by guests on a casual family vacation, for larger conventions, or concerts during the hotel's annual Labor Day Jazz Festival. The hotel has drawn some criticism for its policy of charging a $10 fee for non-guests to enter the building and enjoy the view from the famous porch.[16]
Before 2007, air conditioning was only available in public rooms, such as the lobby, parlor and Salle a Manger (main dining room). Due to the building's design it was difficult to add air conditioning to the guest rooms.[14] That year, the entire hotel became air conditioned after 170 guest rooms were installed with heat exchangers which cool the air through contact with the bathroom cold water system.[17][18]
Mackinac Island does not permit motor vehicles (except for emergency vehicles and, in winter, snowmobiles), and transport to and from the
Notable events
U.S. Presidents
Acclaim
In popular culture
The Grand Hotel served as a backdrop and one of the settings for the 1980 film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Every October the hotel hosts an annual convention for fans of the classic.
The hotel also served as the setting for the 1947 musical comedy This Time for Keeps starring entertainer Jimmy Durante and swimmer Esther Williams (after whom the hotel's swimming pool is named).[20][23]
The hotel was the origin of the first World Sauntering Day in the 1970s.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-509379-7.
- ^ Ast, William F. III (September 7, 2010). "Descendant of Grand Hotel Builder Donates Wealth of Information". The Herald-Palladium. Benton Harbor, MI. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
- ISBN 1-86189-121-0.
- ^ Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (2009). "Grand Hotel". Historic Sites Online. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Grand Hotel". National Historic Landmark Summary Listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
- ^ "Grand Hotel r". Historic Hotels of America. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ^ Janiskee, Bob (May 10, 2011). "Pruning the Parks: Mackinac National Park (1875-1895)". National Parks Traveler. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Grand Hotel: Hotel & History". Grand Hotel. Grand Hotel. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "List of National Historical Landmarks" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
- ^ Williams, Corey (September 11, 2019). "Owners of Mackinac Island's iconic Grand Hotel announce sale". Jackson Hole News & Guide. Associated Press. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ Knowles, Gary. "Cruising to Mackinac Island". Madison Magazine. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ^ a b "Grand Hotel: Named Rooms". Grand Hotel. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "Front Porch of Grand Hotel—Mackinac Island". The Best Up North. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Grand Hotel: Trip Advisor Reviews". Trip Advisor. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ]
- ^ "About Grand Hotel". Grand Hotel. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ Dearle, Brian. "Mackinac Island". The New Colonist. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ a b "Grand Hotel: Facts". Grand Hotel. Archived from the original on May 27, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "Cruising to Mackinac Island". Madison Magazine. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ^ Hunter, Heather (June 23, 2009). "AAA Inspectors Pick Their Top Ten Historic Hotels for Independence Day" (Press release). American Automobile Association. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- ^ "This Time For Keeps". IMDB. Archived from the original on March 27, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- Grand Hotel listing at Michigan History, Arts and Libraries
- Grand Hotel listing at MI State Historic Preservation Objects
External links
- Official website
- "Map of Island and hotel location" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.